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Adolfo Bioy Casares (; 15 September 1914 – 8 March 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, diarist, and translator. He was a friend and frequent collaborator with his fellow countryman
Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...
. He is the author of the
Fantastique ''Fantastique'' is a French term for a literary and cinematic genre that overlaps with science fiction, horror, and fantasy. The ''fantastique'' is a substantial genre within French literature. Arguably dating back further than English lan ...
novel '' The Invention of Morel''.


Biography

Adolfo Bioy Casares was born on September 15, 1914 in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
, the only child of Adolfo Bioy Domecq and Marta Ignacia Casares
Lynch Lynch may refer to: Places Australia * Lynch Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica * Lynch Point, Marie Byrd Land, Antarctica * Lynch's Crater, Queensland, Australia England * River Lynch, Hertfordshire * The Lynch, an island in the River ...
. He was born in Recoleta, a neighborhood of Buenos Aires traditionally inhabited by upper-class families, where he would reside the majority of his life. Due to his family's high social class, he was able to dedicate himself exclusively to
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
and, at the same time, distinguish his work from the traditional literary medium of his time. He wrote his first story ("Iris y Margarita") at the age of eleven. He began his secondary education in the
Instituto Libre de Segunda Enseñanza The Instituto Libre de Segunda Enseñanza is a high school that depends on the Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). It has approximately 1000 students, and it is located in Libertad 555 street, Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina. As it is aff ...
at the
Universidad de Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one of the most prestigi ...
. Later, he started but did not end up finishing degrees in
law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
,
philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
, and
literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...
. Fueled by disappointment with the university atmosphere, he moved to a family ranch where, when he didn't have visitors, he devoted himself almost entirely to his study of literature. By the time he reached his late twenties, he maintained proficiency in
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
,
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
, French (which he spoke from the age of 4) and
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...
. Between 1929 and 1937 Bioy Casares published a number of books (''Prólogo'', ''17 disparos contra lo porvenir'', ''Caos'', ''La nueva tormenta'', ''La estatua casera'', ''Luis Greve, muerto'') that he would later disdain, restricting additional publications and refusing to discuss them, labeling all his work previous to 1940 as 'horrible'. In 1932 he met
Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...
at Villa Ocampo, a house in San Isidro belonging to
Victoria Ocampo Ramona Victoria Epifanía Rufina Ocampo (7 April 1890 – 27 January 1979) was an Argentine writer and intellectual. Best known as an advocate for others and as publisher of the literary magazine '' Sur'', she was also a writer and critic in he ...
. There, she often hosted different international figures and organized cultural celebrations, one of which brought Borges and Bioy Casares together. Bioy Casares recalled that on that particular occasion, the two writers stepped away from the rest of the guests, only to be reprimanded by Ocampo. This reproach provoked them to leave the gathering and return to the city together. The journey sealed a lifelong friendship and many influential literary collaborations. Under the pseudonyms H. Bustos Domecq and Benito Suárez Lynch, the two teamed up on a variety of projects from short stories (''Seis problemas para don Isidro Parodi'', ''Dos fantasías memorables'', ''Un modelo para la muerte''), to screenplays (''Los orilleros'', ''Invasión''), and fantastic fiction (''Antología de la literatura fantástica'', ''Cuentos breves y extraordinarios''). Between 1945 and 1955, they directed "El séptimo círculo" ("The Seventh Circle"), a collection of translations of popular English
detective fiction Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...
, a genre that Borges greatly admired. In 2006, ''Borges'', a biographical volume of more than 1600 pages from Bioy Casares' journals, revealed many additional details of the friendship shared by the two writers. Bioy Casares had already prepared and corrected the texts some time previously, but he never was able to publish them himself. In 1940, he published the short novel '' The Invention of Morel'', which marked the beginning of his literary maturity. The novel's introduction was written by Borges, in which he comments on the absence of precursors to science fiction in Spanish literature, presenting Bioy Casares as the pioneer of a new genre. The novella was very well accepted and received the Primer Premio Municipal de Literatura (First Municipal Prize of Literature) in 1941. During this same time, in collaboration with Borges and Silvina Ocampo, he published two anthologies: ''Antología de la literatura fantástica'' (1940) y ''Antología poética argentina'' (1941). In 1940, Bioy Casares married
Silvina Ocampo Silvina Ocampo (28 July 1903 – 14 December 1993) was an Argentine short story writer, poet, and artist. Ocampo's friend and collaborator Jorge Luis Borges called Ocampo "one of the greatest poets in the Spanish language, whether on this side o ...
, Victoria's sister, who was a painter as well as a writer. In 1954, one of Bioy Casares' mistresses gave birth in the United States to his daughter, Marta, who was subsequently adopted by his wife Silvina. Marta was killed in an automobile accident just three weeks after Silvina Ocampo's death, leaving Adolfo with two children. The estate of Silvina Ocampo and Adolfo Bioy Casares was awarded by a Buenos Aires court to yet another love child of Adolfo Bioy Casares, Fabián Bioy. Fabián Bioy died, aged 40, in
Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
on 11 February 2006. Bioy won several awards, including the Gran Premio de Honor of SADE (the Argentine Society of Writers, 1975), the French
Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon, ...
(1981), the Diamond
Konex Award Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The pur ...
of Literature (1994) the title of Illustrious Citizen of Buenos Aires (1986), and the
Miguel de Cervantes Prize The Miguel de Cervantes Prize ( es, Premio de Literatura en Lengua Castellana Miguel de Cervantes) is awarded annually to honour the lifetime achievement of an outstanding writer in the Spanish language. History The prize was established in 1975 ...
(awarded to him in 1991 in
Alcalá de Henares Alcalá de Henares () is a Spanish city in the Community of Madrid. Straddling the Henares River, it is located to the northeast of the centre of Madrid. , it has a population of 193,751, making it the region's third-most populated Municipalities ...
). Adolfo Bioy Casares is buried in
La Recoleta Cemetery La Recoleta Cemetery ( es, Cementerio de la Recoleta) is a cemetery located in the Recoleta, Buenos Aires, Recoleta Barrios and Communes of Buenos Aires, neighbourhood of Buenos Aires, Argentina. It contains the graves of notable people, includi ...
, Buenos Aires.


Works

The best-known novel by Bioy Casares is ''La invención de Morel'' ('' The Invention of Morel''). It is the story of a man who, evading justice, escapes to an island said to be infected with a mysterious fatal disease. Struggling to understand why everything seems to repeat, he realizes that all the people he sees there are actually recordings, made with a special machine, invented by Morel, which is able to record not only three-dimensional images, but also voices and scents, making it all indistinguishable from reality. The story mixes
realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...
,
fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
, science fiction and terror. Borges wrote an introduction in which he called it a work of "reasoned imagination" and linked it to
H. G. Wells Herbert George Wells"Wells, H. G."
Revised 18 May 2015. ''
Octavio Paz Octavio Paz Lozano (March 31, 1914 – April 19, 1998) was a Mexican poet and diplomat. For his body of work, he was awarded the 1977 Jerusalem Prize, the 1981 Miguel de Cervantes Prize, the 1982 Neustadt International Prize for Literature, and ...
described the novel as "perfect". The story is held to be the inspiration for Alan Resnais's ''
Last Year at Marienbad ''Last Year at Marienbad'' (french: L'Année dernière à Marienbad; released in the United Kingdom as ''Last Year in Marienbad'') is a 1961 Left Bank film directed by Alain Resnais from a screenplay by Alain Robbe-Grillet. Set in a palace in a p ...
''Thomas Beltzer, ''Last Year at Marienbad: An Intertextual Meditation'

and an influence on the TV series ''
Lost Lost may refer to getting lost, or to: Geography *Lost, Aberdeenshire, a hamlet in Scotland * Lake Okeechobee Scenic Trail, or LOST, a hiking and cycling trail in Florida, US History *Abbreviation of lost work, any work which is known to have bee ...
''. Novels and novellas * ''La nueva tormenta o la vida de Juan Ruteno'', 167 pp. (1935; "The New Storm or The Life of Juan Ruteno") * ''
La invención de Morel ''La invención de Morel'' (; 1940) — translated as ''The Invention of Morel'' or ''Morel's Invention'' — is a novel by Argentine writer Adolfo Bioy Casares. It was Bioy Casares' breakthrough effort, for which he won the 1941 First Mu ...
'', 126 pp. (1940; translated into English as '' The Invention of Morel'', 1964, ) * ''El perjurio de la nieve'', 64 pp. (1944; "The Snow's Perjury") * ''Plan de evasión'', 162 pp. (1945; translated into English as ''A Plan for Escape'', 1975, ) * ''El sueño de los héroes'', 216 pp. (1954; translated into English as ''The Dream of Heroes'', 1987, ) * ''Homenaje a Francisco Almeyra'', 37 pp. (1954; "Homage to Francisco Almeyra") * ''Diario de la guerra del cerdo'', 207 pp. (1969; translated into English as ''Diary of the War of the Pig'', 1972, ) * ''Dormir al Sol'', 229 pp. (1973; translated into English as ''Asleep in the Sun'', 1978, ) * ''La aventura de un fotógrafo en La Plata'', 223 pp. (1985; translated into English as ''The Adventures of a Photographer in
La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from th ...
'', 1989, ) * ''Un campeón desparejo'', 110 pp. (1993; "An Uneven Champion") Short story collections * ''17 disparos contra el porvenir'', 173 pp. (1933; "17 Shots Against the Future") * ''Caos'', 283 pp. (1934, "Chaos") * ''Luis Greve, muerto'', 157 pp. (1937; "Luis Greve, Deceased") * '' La trama celeste'', 246 pp. (1948; "The Celestial Plot") * ''Las vísperas de Fausto'', 15 pp. (1949; "Faust's Eve") * ''Historia prodigiosa'', 151 pp. (1956; "A Remarkable History") * ''El lado de la sombra'', 192 pp. (1962; "The Shady Side") * ''El gran serafín'', 190 pp. (1967; "The Great Seraph") * ''
El héroe de las mujeres ''The Hero of Women'' (Spanish: ''El héroe de las mujeres'') is a book by Argentine writer Adolfo Bioy Casares Adolfo Bioy Casares (; 15 September 1914 – 8 March 1999) was an Argentine fiction writer, journalist, diarist, and translator. H ...
'', 191 pp. (1978; "The Hero of Women") * ''Historias desaforadas'', 231 pp. (1986; "Colossal Stories") * ''Una muñeca rusa'', 179 pp. (1991; translated into English as ''A Russian Doll and Other Stories'', 1992, ) Generally, these Spanish-language collections have not been systematically translated into English. English language collections include: * ''Selected Stories'', 176 pp. (1994, ) Essays * ''La otra aventura'', 153 pp. (1968, "The Other Adventure") * ''Memoria sobre la pampa y los gauchos'', 57 pp. (1970, "Memoir on the Pampas and the Gauchos") Miscellanies (mixed collections of stories, poems, essays, reflections, aphorisms, etc.) * ''Prólogo'', 127 pp. (1929; "Prologue") * ''La estatua casera'', 51 pp. (1936; "The Household Statue") * ''Guirnalda con amores'', 200 pp. (1959; "Garland with Loves") Dictionary of Argentinean slang * ''Breve diccionario del argentino exquisito'', 161 pp. (1971; "Brief Dictionary of Affected Argentineans") Letters * ''En viaje (1967)'', 260 pp. (1996; "Travelling in 1967"; letters to Silvina Ocampo) Diaries *''Descanso de caminantes. Diarios íntimos'', 507 pp. (2001; "Rest for Travellers and Intimate Diaries"; a selection from his Journals) Works written in collaboration with Jorge Luis Borges * ''Seis problemas para don Isidro Parodi'' (1942; translated into English as ''Six Problems for Don Isidro Parodi'', 1981, ) * ''Dos fantasías memorables'' (1946; "Two Memorable Fantasies") * ''Un modelo para la muerte'' (1946; "A Model for Death") * ''Cuentos breves y extraordinarios'' (1955; "Short and Amazing Stories") * ''Crónicas de Bustos Domecq'' (1967; translated into English as ''Chronicles of Bustos Domecq'', 1976, ) * ''Libro del cielo y del infierno'', (1960; "The Book of Heaven and Hell") * ''Nuevos cuentos de Bustos Domecq'' (1977; "New Stories by Bustos Domecq") ''Dos fantasías memorables'' and ''Un modelo para la muerte'' were originally published in private printings of only 300 copies. The first commercial printings were published in 1970. Works written in collaboration with Silvina Ocampo * ''Los que aman, odian'' (''Those Who Love, Hate'', 1946) Screenplays written in collaboration with Jorge Luis Borges * '' Los orilleros'' (1955, ''The Hoodlums'') * ''El paraíso de los creyentes'' (1955, ''The Paradise of the Believers'') * ''
Invasión ''Invasión'' is an Argentine film released in 1969 and directed by Hugo Santiago, who had also written the script together with Jorge Luis Borges and Adolfo Bioy Casares. Its style is intermediate between classic cinema and the French ''nouvell ...
'' (1969, ''Invasion'') * '' The Others'' (1974)


References


External links


Caricature and obituary
at literatura.org (in Spanish)
logosfreebooks.org biography of Bioy Casares
(in Spanish)

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080311230024/http://www.argentina.ar/sw_contenido.php?id=429 Bioy renowned around the world.Published online in ''www.Argentina.ar'' (in English) {{DEFAULTSORT:Bioy Casares, Adolfo Premio Cervantes winners 1914 births 1999 deaths Illustrious Citizens of Buenos Aires Argentine people of Irish descent Argentine science fiction writers Magic realism writers Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery 20th-century novelists Male novelists Argentine diarists Writers from Buenos Aires Prix Roger Caillois recipients 20th-century Argentine male writers 20th-century diarists